Cody Arvonen
Cody Arvonen
Major: Computer Engineering
Minors: Entrepreneurship, Mathematics, and Computer Science
Graduation: December 2023
Instagram: @codyarvonen
I am from Chico, California, and a junior here at BYU. Some of my passions and hobbies are running, playing soccer, hiking, and traveling with my wife, Annelin.
What's one item on your bucket list?
One item on my bucket list is that I want to run a marathon! I have been a runner ever since high school, and I love the physical and mental strength that running has given me. I ran my first half-marathon two summers ago, and I hope to be able to work up to a full marathon by the end of the fall.
What sparked your interest in your major?
Math and science have always interested me, but for a while, I had a hard time deciding which field of study was the right fit for me. My dad for years had been telling me that I should study electrical engineering, but I never listened until I found myself in the freshman seminar class for electrical and computer engineering. Since I was on my mission in Argentina when the Winter 2020 registration was opened, I had my dad help sign me up for classes that semester. He insisted one final time that I should at least consider it by taking that 0.5 credit seminar class. After the first week in that class, I never looked back. The potential to understand the math and science behind the amazing electronics we encounter everyday was so exciting that I changed my major to electrical engineering and later found my home in computer engineering (basically electrical engineering with an emphasis on computer hardware and software design).
Why did you decide to join the Honors Program?
I decided to join the Honors Program because I have always been interested in the idea of interdisciplinary learning. I consider myself a problem solver and learning how to approach a problem from many different angles was something that I wanted. Also, I want to go to graduate school and I knew that the Honors would help me get into research early on.
What has been your favorite part of your Honors experience?
So far, my favorite part of the Honors Program has been participating in my leadership development experience. I was a member of the Global Engineering Outreach study abroad where I worked with an interdisciplinary team of engineers. We built an air quality sensor for a school in Peru and last month we got to bring it down to Lima! This experience has given me the opportunity to put into practice the leadership skills I have developed in the program thus far.
What is your next step in Honors?
In the next few months, I will be brainstorming potential thesis topics so that I can hopefully get started at the end of the fall. I still have one more Unexpected Connections class and the Great Questions class.